If you build it they will come. That statement is only true in the movies. Today, even in education, marketing your product becomes a critical part of your implementation plan. Here is your Learning Rebels guide to marketing your learning event.

1. If you don't have one
start one.
THE CLASS
THINK OUTSIDE
1 2 3 4
Think trailer! Preview your learning Direct marketing isn't
dead!
Blog Video Slideshare Newletter
4 Steps to Marketing Your Learning
Beyond Free Lunch
Learning
Rebels Guide

2. 6
Thisisnothowyouwanttodriveyouraudiencetoyourproduct.Productyouspentalotoftimeandeffort
to be creative, engaging and innovative.
One thing remains true - the one thing L&D needs is a marketing department. Here are four ideas to take
your L&D marketing from “Free Lunch” to something that your customers will not be able to resist and will
create such a buzz, you'll have nothing but waiting lists.
Where's there's free food
You know the old saying:
There's an audience

3. 1
If you don't have a blog, get one. This is the single best way to provide information (as you will see) to your
people. Starting a blog is remarkably easy and possibilities endless; include general L&D updates,
course/class information, project updates or survey results. Once you hook them, you need a plan to keep
them coming back, so plan for interesting easy content such as thought of the day, trivia contest, "top 10" lists
or give-aways.
Blog Bonus: Include a sign-up form (which will come with your blog "theme") which will ask people to
subscribe. This will allow them to receive automatic email updates and special content. Remember, you are
using this to market your department - “You may have the best product in the world, but if you can’t sell it,
you still have it”. ~ Zig Ziggler

4. 2
Video Intro: Think movie trailer. We all make decisions on movies based on the trailer. Create a short, clever
video introducing upcoming activities. People will be talking about your course and will want to know more.
You can add the video to the blog, post it into a newsletter, send it via email, upload to intranet the
possibilities are endless.
Video bonus: Nowadays you don’t have to hire someone, just whip out your hand held video camera, smart
phone or tablet and go to town. There is plenty of free to inexpensive software to help produce a quality end
results.HeadonovertoYouTubeandsearchforvideosoftware.

5. 3
Slides as a hook: Create a slide-share account (free) to share previews of your courses. From there you can
incorporate the deck into your blog. Create a deck that is 4 - 5 slides tops, giving the feature enough to make
them hungry for more. Make it creative and fun, just like your courses!
Slide-Share Bonus: You can upload more than presentations, got a clever infographic? Use it as advertising.
Start with Piktochart. Use a product (free) such as Haiku Deck to create beautiful tasty bites about your
courses or classes. Be sure to include a “call to action” on the last slide that will encourages people to sign up
for blog updates.

6. Direct Marketing. The flyer on the lunch room refrigerator isn’t going to cut it, neither is that one random
email announcement. Time to bring in the newsletter, not the difficult to format word version. But a seriously
clever and good looking one, that is easily created through MailChimp (free). The best newsletters are simple
and short - think lots of whitespace. This is not for "everything but the kitchen sink" - you want short updates
that will send the reader to... (you guessed it) your BLOG.
Newsletter Bonus: Mailchimp has FREE resource guides to help you set-up and create newsletters people
actually want to read.
5

7. 6
Don't like these ideas?
That's fine
Just do something!
Find the biggest Marketing guru
you know and ask them how they
would market your department.
Over a martini, of course.

8. THE CLASS
THINK OUTSIDE
4StepstoMarketingYourLearning
Beyond Free Lunch

9. THE CLASS
THINK OUTSIDE
Marketing Your Learning
Beyond Free Lunch
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